Do you remember me bewailing the lack of French hairpins in London? I bewailed it here, in French Chignons Are Beautiful Thanks To These.
I should have trusted my instincts, and realised that an emporium as excellent as The Garden Pharmacy in Covent Garden WOULD have them.
In my defence, I had looked, but with so much fabulous stock catching my eye, I failed to notice them tucked away at the end of the aisle, almost at floor level.
Thank Dieu for the Garden. My hair is once again as under control as it ever consents to be. These pins aren’t quite my favourite, as they don’t have the comfortable curve which allows effortless pinning and painless anchoring (nor are they black), but they are absolutely close enough to make me happy.
I was also pleased to find big black heavy waved hairpins. I’ve been making do with the very small blond versions of these, which I like because they remind me of earwigs and you can bend them into interesting shapes, but the they are pretty useless when it comes to serios holding. The big ones are much better.
Both types of pins are by Lady Jayne. What does Lady Jayne suggest to you? To me, despite that unnecessary ‘y’, it suggests Lady Jane Grey, and therefore decapitation. Which might be gruesome, but it is quite a clever association when you think about it – you don’t want your hair all over your neck when it’s about to meet the executioner’s blade. Eurgh. I have no idea who makes French hairpins, but following this train of thought, perhaps the company is called princesse de Lambelle.
Oh, and to everyone who said to me “Stop moaning on and go to Sally’s – you’ll be able to get a huge box of them there” I would like to say, “Maybe I should, but I don’t want to have to do that. I want the super-convenience of being able to pick up my pins in any old supermarket, chemist or department store, as the lucky French do.”
Until that happy day dawns, a huge “Merci” to The Garden Pharmacy from iBeheld.
If you are reading this in the depths of the country, miles from the The Garden, Sally’s or indeed any physical hair pin provider, you can buy an enormous box of 500 pins by clicking here.
